Look Like Love
by Max.Nevermore
Summary: Secret is no ordinary half blood. She's tough, rough... and the next hero of the Great Prophcey? Follow Secret on the path of destruction, betrayal...and love. (With MelodyOfSong526, my amazing editor and friend! She's AMAZING at writing! Check her stories out! Sorry my summary sucks xD)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my new PJO fanfiction. My amazing and awesome friend, MelodyOfSong, edited this chapter and a bunch of other ones. **

**Go and check out her stories! She's amazing at writing! **

**Anyway, enjoy the first chapter and I'd love to hear some feedback**

**XxxX**

**Disclaimer: The Percy Jackson Books belong to Rick Riordon. Not me!**

Chapter One

Maybe running wasn't a good idea. Maybe staying and lying there was better than running away from who-knows-what. Still, I ran. I hadn't given up just yet.

_ RAWR!_

I heard something behind me, growling. Something large, fast, and deadly. What could I do but run?

The darkness pressed around me. The tall, dark trees loomed over my small form as I dashed by.

Light! I could see a faint pulsing of it as I raced on.

I burst out of the dark forest, panting and streaming with sweat. For a scary moment, I thought I was trapped. There was a giant pine tree towering on an equally giant hill. I could see there was something circling around the base of the hill, like a guardian. Behind me, there was something unknown, but definitely evil. On the sides, there were vast, farm-like lands that stretched on forever.

I took my chances. My feet started to race up the steep hill, dragging my body along, like my feet had its own brain and were completely ignoring my real brain.

Somehow, I made it to the crest of the hill, where the thing was guarding the tree. As I got closer, I realized that the "thing" was a serpent… or was it a dragon?

No time to waste, I had to run. I sped past the dragon-like thing. It barley even looked at me. I breathed a sigh of relief before turning.

Something shot near my head. Luckily, I ducked and saw the flash of an arrow whiz by.

I didn't exactly want to stick around and be killed by unknown creatures, so I ran again.

A big—no, _gigantic—_blue house stood tall and proud. It wasn't much to look at. Nothing was decorated, and it looked worn down.

My feet moved of its own record and I ran to the house.

The door opened before I could slam my fist into it.

"Monsters!" I gasped. My vision was all blurry with what seemed to be tears. I sank to the ground, my head throbbing.

Somehow I knew I was safe. For now.

Let me make this clear. This is not an ordinary story. Sure, it sounds like a whole bunch of mush, but my life was a whole bunch of mush; the worst, gooey mush that you can sink right through.

As I was saying, this isn't a random fantasy that some silly writer came up with. This is my life. I'll warn you once. Don't go on. Don't browse through all my suffering and all the pain I caused. If you do, they'll come for you.  
I don't expect you mortals to actually listen to me, but let me warn you one more time. Don't go on…

I jolted awake in my bed. Sweat streamed down my face and neck, making me a human sweat rag. The dream—memory—was so clear, I felt as though it was only yesterday I'd been chased away from my home.

I scrambled to the bathroom to splash water on my face. The coolness of the water awakened me. My fingers found the bead necklace around my neck.

Eight.

Each one of the beads represented a year at camp. Not just any camp. Camp Half-Blood.

I know that sounds weird, but really, it isn't that weird. Camp Half-Blood trained heroes, under the instruction of Chiron, our lovely, beloved centaur. Half-bloods learn how to fight and how to beat monsters in combat.

Okay, maybe it is weird.

Half-bloods, AKA demigods, are what we're talking about here. Not some lost pizza delivery guy that hit his head and spilled half of his blood out. That's happened. Don't question it.

Let me say this in a blunt way. Demigods are children of Greek gods. I am one of them.

Call me crazy, but I swear it's true. Of course mortals like you can't see stuff like this, but it's always worth a try.  
I brushed my teeth, bunched my hair up in a messy ponytail, and stepped outside. The conch horn blew, signaling that it was time for breakfast.

No one lived in my cabin but me. I was a loner, like always. My cabin sat behind all the other glamorous cabins, on the male god side. Nothing was really special about it. My cabin had sleek black walls and outside, by the doors, there were torches lit with green flames.  
"Hey!"

I turned to see my best friend. My smile flashed across my face.

"Hi Shiny!"

Shiny, otherwise known as Shine, had smooth black hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were dark brown, but if you looked closely, you could see little flecks of gold in them.

Shine rolled her eyes, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jeans.

"Ready?" She asked flatly.

I gave her a smile, which I rarely do when I'm around others.

Breakfast was no different than any other ones. I sat alone at my table, chewing on my food. _Chirp chirp! _I half-smiled when I saw a tiny bird flapping its wings to get closer. It looked like a baby. Apparently, I was the only one who thought so.

"AHHH! Get away you pesky, filthy creature!"

I turned to look at an Aphrodite girl, who was batting an old fashioned fan at the cute bird. My eyes shot daggers at her.

Several more girls shrieked.

The pavilion erupted in chaos. I sighed, rolling my eyes and looked at Chiron.

Another bird landed close by. Then another. And another.

Suddenly, these cute little birds didn't seem cute anymore. I noted that they had beady, black, glossy eyes, and sharp, knife-like beak.

Why did these creatures look so familiar?

_Oh gods… _

My hands clammed up. Suddenly, it was hard to swallow.

I glanced at Chiron, who seemed to have the same realization.

"Silence!" He stomped his hoof violently against the hard pavement.

The demigods eventually sat down, shooting insults to each other.

Chiron glanced at me, nodding slowly. Tingles went up my back and I took my sword out of my hair. Well, kind of. My sword could transform into a hairclip so that it was convenient.

Others seemed to get the idea and pulled out their weapons too. They were mostly daggers and knifes because they had left their swords back in their cabins.

My blood was ice-cold. I'd met these savage bird before… when I was young. Who wouldn't have bad memories of these?

The birds stared at us with their beady eyes.

Someone stood up. I was about to snap at them, but I realized it was Anna. She had dark chocolate hair and bright green eyes that was unusual for a daughter of Nemesis. She was an okay kid, you could say, but she took revenge _way_ too seriously.

She had this kind of stare down with the biggest bird. I thought I saw a flash of recognition in the bird's eyes before it bobbed its head and flew away. The other birds flew after it.

I stared at Anna with new respect. Here I was, thinking that Anna was just another simple demigod.

She sat down, cheeks turning rosy. One of her sisters hugged her, smiling.

Chiron swished his horse tail in a nervous way.

"Counselors, meet me at the Big House after your breakfast." he cantered away.

I locked eyes with Shine, getting up as I did so.

She mouthed, _Hold on!_

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I walked away anyway.

I let the shadows engulf me, feeling at ease. I don't know how long I stood there, but finally I heard Chiron calling for me.

Time to see what the old horse-man wanted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks again to MelodyOfSong for editing! She's the awesomest friend ever! **

**I hope you like this chapter! Please leave some feedback! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: The Percy Jackson Books belong to Rick Riordan! NOT ME**

Chapter Two

I sat down in my usual spot in the corner where no one paid attention to me.

The counselors sat there, talking and laughing. Someone had passed out cookies and there were even a couple of satyrs there passing out cheese crackers. Apparently, breakfast hadn't been enough.

Someone had stuck their knife into the Ping-Pong table. Shine was busy screaming at the Hermes cabin counselor, who had a silly grin on his face. I half smiled at that.

"Silence!"

The yelling and talking ceased at once. We all turned our eyes to Chiron, who was in his wheelchair. He couldn't fit inside if he was in his centaur form.

He placed his hands on the table, frowning slightly.

"One of our satyrs has located two demigods. Two very powerful demigods."

Chiron paused, his eyes raking over all of us. They settled on me.

"I need someone to go there and get those two out of there. Grover thinks that there are a couple monsters keeping an eye on them."

Why was he looking at me like that? Almost like he wanted to say something to me, but couldn't.

"Secret, you will go… Perhaps you wish to take someone with you?"

I stood up, putting my hands in my pockets again.

"No thanks. I can handle this by myself."

Chiron nodded, as if he expected it. As a daughter of one of the big three, I tended to go alone. I was isolated from others. My scent attracted monsters. A lot of them.

"Where are these demigods?" I asked, looking into his thousand-year-old eyes.

"Pennsylvania, in a place called Audubon."

Inwardly, I groaned. Shadow-traveling time…

Instead of voicing my complaints, I strode out the door, my black clothes blending in with the shadows completely.

My feet led me back to my cabin, where I packed a bag of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar. After a second thought, I put another bag of ambrosia in my backpack.

I opened the door and something instantly flew at me.

Instinctively, I knew who it was, and whirled my blade to her throat.

It was Shine.

"Are you crazy? Going out into the mortal world with no help at all?"

Shine had a tendency to overreact.

"I'll be fine Shiny," I gave her my best death glare.

Shine ruffled her hair and pushed the point of my dagger away from her throat. I strapped it back into its holster.

"I'll be back before you know it." I promised her, slinging the backpack over my shoulder.

She nodded wordlessly, watching as I headed into the forest. Once I reached the darkness, I took a deep breath, and ran.

Wind ripped across my face and I concentrated on reaching the place Chiron had told me Grover was waiting. I opened my eyes when the rushing wind sensation disappeared.

I was next to a school, by tennis courts that seemed unoccupied. I glanced down at my watch, which read 7:45.

Taking out the pouch of ambrosia, I slipped a tiny bit in my mouth. Shadow traveling wasn't exactly easy.

I smiled. It tasted sweet, like the sweets my mother used to make me when I was small and young. Ever since she had passed away, nothing had been the same. Nothing at all.

School was starting in exactly 15 minutes. It was then that a car pulled up and out came three guys. One was Grover; I could instantly tell it was him with his crutches.

I didn't expect all of them to be friends already, but I guessed that was because it was an attraction. Demigods usually hung around other demigods. Either it was because they were so similar, or it was because a gut feeling told them that they could trust each other.

"Grover!" I put my hands in my black leather jacket's pockets.

Grover turned around, kind of grinning. He greeted me with an awkward hug.

"Secret! Still going with black clothes I see."

I slapped him on the head playfully, "Of course. I'm a daughter of H-"

I stopped, suddenly remembering the guys next to Grover.

One had blonde, spiky hair with green-blue eyes that sparkled. He was very handsome. I looked at him, trying to judge who his godly parent was. No doubt it was Aphrodite.

The other one had black hair that stuck out everywhere in a messy way. I expected his eyes to be green; but instead, a cold, steely-gray met my eyes.

"Hi," I introduced myself, "I'm Secret."

The dude with the blonde hair held out a hand, "I'm Jayden. Jay for short."

I didn't want to touch his hand, but I grasped it in my own anyway.

_Act normal._

"I'm Felix." The other guy didn't hold out his hand. He looked at me, a calculating look in his eyes.

Oh, this one was smarter. Maybe Athena was his godly parent then. The gray eyes resembled hers. Or maybe it was Zeus. That look he threw could compete with Zeus'.

"How come we've never seen you around before?" Felix asked, almost rudely.

"I don't live here," I replied smoothly, "I'm just visiting a friend for a week. Today's my last day."

Felix and Jay exchanged looks. It didn't look like they believed me. I did not like that.

"Yeah, Secret is coming to school with us for a day." Grover put in, twitching.

The bell rang with a sharp _ringgg!_

"Speaking of school…"

Grover, Jay, and Felix led me inside.

"You got lucky today. No learning! We're going on a field trip." Grover grinned happily to me.

I grinned back, trying not to squirm that much. There were people streaming out of the buses. It was like trying to swim with sharks.

I followed Grover to his homeroom, partially because I had no other place to go and partially because I could keep an eye on the "powerful demigods."

Grover pointed to the seat next to him. I sat there awkwardly as everyone filed in. No one paid attention to me, thankfully. I hoped the teacher would ignore me too.

"Good morning class!" I looked up as a lady took her place in front of the class. She was in a wheelchair, but I couldn't really see why. She wore a long blue and purple dress that covered her legs and feet. There was a green shawl draped over her shoulders. This woman had no taste in fashion.

"Good morning Ms. Lipson." The class chanted back to the woman.

Grover nudged me, his brown eyes signaling alarms and the word MONSTER!

I nodded slightly, eyes darting up to Ms. Lipson. Her face looked distorted. She had thin red lips, eyes that looked like it was about to pop out, and when she licked her lips, I thought I could see a forked tongue. Her eyes seemed to bug out. She sort of stared, not blinking at all. It was creepy. She was definitely a monster.

"Alright class, let's line up. The buses are waiting outside!"

"How long will the ride take?" Someone called out.

Ms. Lipson pursed her thin lips, "About an hour, _deary._"

The whole class groaned a little before shuffling out of the door.

It turned out that the buses weren't the cheap, dusty old yellow school buses that I'd seen earlier. They were the luxurious Coach buses.

Everyone was much happier after that.

I slid next to Grover, hand clenching my dagger, concealed under my jacket. My other hand was about to unclip the plain old pin from my hair. Something did not feel right. Something was going on.

"Settle down!" Ms. Lipson called out, settling in one of the handicapped seats.

I exchanged glances with Grover again.

The hour went by pretty fast. Grover and I talked in low voices about how to get Jay and Felix back to camp.

"I'll shadow- travel." I hissed in his ear.

I glanced nervously at Ms. Lipson. She didn't pay any attention… I hoped.

"Can you handle getting all four of us back to camp?" Grover nibbled on a carrot he had produced out of nowhere.

"Yeah, of course I can."

A little voice inside me chimed lightly:

_Maybe you can't do it. Shadow traveling four people at once is pushing your limits. Think rationally, Secret. _

I shoved the voice out of my head.

We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. Grover was eyeing the seat in front of us, like he was actually going to eat it. I nudged him.

Mrs. Lipson stood up as the bus came to a halt, "All right dearies! Let's get going!"

It turned out we were going to a museum. Just my luck.

It was boring.

Nothing particularly interested me. I kept my head low and avoided everyone. It wasn't that hard.

We passed by painting after painting. They were the modern kinds that didn't look very good… at all.

I lost count of how many times I had yawned after fifteen.

"Oh dear Hades, make this torture end." I grumbled under my breath. Felix looked at me like I'd sprouted another head.

"What?" I snapped.

He shook his head, "What about Hades?"

I shrugged, choosing to ignore the question.

There it was again! Jay and Felix looked at each other with that knowing look. It was extremely annoying.

"Alright kiddos! Lunch time!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Thank the gods that's over!" I muttered to Grover as we shuffled out.

"Just a moment. Jay, Felix, please come with me." Mrs. Lipson smiled.

I shot a panicked look at Grover.

"Don't worry, we'll be back." Felix told us, almost smiling at our reactions.

They followed Mrs. Lipson down the hall.

Grover and I looked at each other again. We both followed silently behind.

We had to get out.

Grover somehow produced his reed-pipes out of his pockets, which was slightly scary. His pockets were huge!

I peered around the corner. Jay and Felix both faced the monster, pale white, who was smiling creepily.

"Your time is up." Mrs. Lipson was hissing.

Felix shook his head, "What are you talking about?"

Mrs. Lipson laughed, "I used to be beautiful, you know. I was the queen of Libya and a very powerful demigod. Then, Zeus came along. We were in love. His jealous wife, Hera, hated me. She turned me into this."

She began changing.

Her face stayed the same; I supposed it really couldn't get worse. Her body wriggled and suddenly, she had a serpent tail.

I gulped. The one time I had seen this demon… hadn't ended very well.

Jay and Felix looked frozen with fear.

Grover nudged me, hard.

"We have to help them!" He whispered.

I nodded, taking out my clip. It elongated to a 3-foot celestial bronze sword.

Then, I did the stupidest thing ever. I stepped out into the light.

I should have sneaked up behind her or something. That was reckless.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" I let a smirk brush my face, "Lamia isn't it?"

Without letting her answer, I launched myself at her.

She was remarkably fast. Somehow, she produced two knives and blocked my swinging blade.

I dodged her knife as she threw it. The blade was so close; I could feel it slicing the air next to my cheek.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grover gathering Jay and Felix together. I knocked the knife out of Lamia's hand and struck with full force. My sword plunged into her body.

With a dying scream, Lamia dissolved in a pile of golden monster dust. I smirked and turned to the three boys.

Somehow I grabbed the boys. Focusing all my power into shadow traveling, I imagined Half-Blood hill with the giant pine tree casting shadows over the green grass.

I took a deep breath and suddenly we were there.

Red dots swam in my vision.

I groaned, suddenly finding the ground very comfortable.

I swayed from side to side until my legs buckled and I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the whole series belongs to Rick Riordan. I only own my characters!**

**DayDreamingInTheAir: Thanks you so much!**

Chapter Three

I opened my eyes. Amazingly, my brain was still functioning and my head wasn't throbbing, like I had expected.

"Hello sweetie."

I looked up. The most beautiful woman I had ever seen stood before me. She had long, flowing black hair with bright blue eyes. She kept changing though. One moment she had black hair, the next, she had blonde curls.

I was in a white room, sitting in a white fluffy chair. Everything seemed white and plain. Then, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the light was pulsing; it would fade from color to color.

"Lady Aphrodite," I murmured.

I wasn't really in the mood to curtsy, so I just stood there awkwardly. After all, what could she do to me? Well, besides killing me.

"Secret," Aphrodite smiled, "How are you enjoying life?"

I probably looked at her like she was crazy.

"Well, I just saved two new demigods and I shadow traveled them all back to camp. I just woke up. What do you think?"

I bit my tongue after the words slipped out, "Sorry Lady Aphrodite. Life is boring, I guess. There's nothing but training to do."

Aphrodite giggled. I found that extremely annoying.

"Dear Secret… You didn't wake up yet! You're still unconscious. This is a dream!"

My arm twitched slightly, as if someone was trying to shake me.

"Oh well, our time here is short." Aphrodite sighed. She held up a mirror and sat down on a chair that had materialized in the air, "And your life is boring? Well, I suppose that's my fault. I haven't given you any challenges yet!"

I swallowed my complaints.

"What kind of… challenges?" I whispered.

Aphrodite smiled, "Well a quest for love of course! You want an interesting love story. I'll give you one! Don't worry, daughter of Hades. There will be plenty of fighting. That's what you do best, right?"

I stared at her, a lump in my throat. My arm twitched again.

"Good luck, dear! You have my blessings!"

A warm tingly feeling spread through me. Before I could look down to see what had happened, the whole scene disappeared and I woke up in the infirmary.

I jerked upright.

"Whoa!" Grover jumped back from my sharp move.

"Oh, hi goat boy," I sighed.

"You ok?" Grover asked, handing me a glass of nectar.

"I'm fine… I think I've never felt better!" I grinned. It was true, my headache was still gone and my muscles felt well-rested.

I sipped at the glass of nectar as Grover explained what had happened.

After Grover finished talking, I stood slowly. No pain erupted in my head. I grinned and flew out the door.

"Secret!" Grover yelled, chasing after me.

"Well, well. You didn't die." I turned to see Dionysus. He gave me a dirty look and returned to his card game.

"Are you going to bid?" He asked impatiently.

At first, I thought he was talking to me. Then, I realized that I wasn't the only demigod at the table.

Felix and Jay sat next to Chiron, inching away from the wine god.

Chiron cleared his throat, "Mr. D, I was just about to ask Secret to take these two to their cabin."

Dionysus sighed, "I suppose. Go on Sarah, take them away and get them killed."

I rolled my eyes mentally, "Yes Mr. D…"

Standing, I beckoned to the two and headed towards the cabins.

Jay and Felix jumped up from their seats and ran after me, happy to get away from the wine god.

We strolled past the volleyball court.

"Did Chiron tell you…?" I asked awkwardly.

Felix nodded, "Who do you think our parents are?"

I studied him, "Um…" Then I shrugged, "it could be anyone."

Before anyone could talk again, I abruptly pointed at the first cabin. It was the grandest out of all the cabins, and there were over 50 of them. You could see that there were two being built and another being renovated.

"This is Zeus' cabin. No one lives here. Not since Jason and Thalia." I muttered. I remembered Jason's death in a flash. My eyes watered a tiny bit.

_.:Flashback:._

_"Watch out!" _

_I turned to see the blonde haired boy knock me over. Something flaming flew over our heads in a deadly hiss. _

_"Jason!" I gasped. _

_He drew his sword._

_"Stay back!" I snapped at the two new demigods we were taking back to camp, "You see that giant tree? Run to it and don't stop! Get to the big house. Get help! GO!" _

_I drew my own sword out. _

_Jason and I stood back to back, trying to see our enemies. _

_It was dark on the hill. You could barely see anything. _

_I could hear the two demigods panting and something else… _

_"DUCK!" I yelled, pulling Jason down. I swung my sword. _

_Hiss! Something was cut, and I knew it had dissolved._

_"Get to camp!" I whispered to Jason. He nodded and we began to retreat. _

_BOOM!_

_We had reached the tall pine tree. Something tackled me down._

_"NO!" Jason reached up like he was trying to grab something. Lighting struck down. The hill was illuminated for a moment. _

_I gasped._

_Monsters stretched all the way down to the base of the hill. I didn't know there were this many… and I didn't know if the boundaries could hold this many demons._

_I slashed with my black sword as the first monster lunged at me. I could feel the sword absorbing the monster's energy. My special sword could hold energy… awesome right? My storage space, you could say. _

_I lashed out again. The next monster was harder to kill. It knocked my sword sideways. It fell out of my hand. _

_I drew out my spare knife and threw it at the monster._

_It dissolved. Luckily, my sword reappeared after a short while. _

_"We need to hold them off!" I yelled to Jason. _

_We were trapped against the giant pine tree. _

_Jason brought down another lightning bolt, slashing out again. _

_I yelled and a dozen skeleton warriors erupted out of the ground. _

_Instinctively, I lashed out at another monster. I pointed my tip to the ground concentrating. Another dozen skeleton warriors clambered out… plus a few skeleton mice. I didn't see how that would exactly help…_

_"Jason! Secret!" I heard another voice yell. Suddenly, the first few waves of monsters disintegrated. _

_Jason and I kept on battling the monsters, wildly swinging. _

_"Let's get back!" I yelled to Jason, who was summoning another loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightning. _

_He nodded, taking my hand. We ran back, occasionally stumbling. I hissed in pain as a fireball skirted my arm._

_Another flash of lightning struck the first few monsters._

_I could see Jason already tiring. I wasn't doing any better. _

_Another wave of dead warriors clambered up. _

_We reached the demigod lines. _

_"Get them!" I yelled. I could tell my powers were slowly draining. My energy level was dropping. _

_I slashed another monster. I drew a little bit of energy into my own body. _

_Another wave of skeletons came up. _

_It looked like we were winning. We had to be! _

_The battle ended suddenly when the monsters started retreating. _

_I smiled victoriously, turning to Jason. Before we could hug each other, something blinding flashed towards us. Jason pushed me. I stumbled back as I watched a giant flaming ball of fire crash into my cousin._

_"NO!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. I rushed forward, but I knew it was too late. _

_Somehow Jason and I had overextended. I sunk down on my knees, sobbing._

_"No… Jason…"_

"Jason?" Felix asked.

I felt a tear trace my cheek. Wiping it away angrily, I flashed Felix an angry look before heading to the next cabin.

I'd been only ten years old when it happened. Jason had been like a brother to me. He used to tell me stories of the war with Gaea. He'd been one of the last ones left. Even his sister, Thalia, had died in battle.

"This is Poseidon's cabin…"

Oh boy, I was really having a bad day today. The death of Poseidon's son had sent another shard of pain into my heart.

I continued showing the boys around, until we reached the Hermes cabin.

"This is where you'll be staying until you get claimed."

"Hey! It's our famous hero, Secret!"

I grinned as I saw the cabin counselor, Greg.

"'Sup? These are our new recruits. This is Felix and Jay." I pointed to them in turn.

"Well hello Felix and Jay. I'm Greg, the Hermes cabin counselor." The boy smiled. He had brown curly hair and chocolate brown eyes that swam with humor.

"Hello."

"Ready for capture-the-flag today?" Greg asked, turning to me.

"Ready as ever!" I grinned, "Which reminds me, can you get Felix and Jay armor and a weapon?"

Greg nodded, "Sure. Let's go guys. Fred, you're in charge!" He looked back and pointed at someone.

I turned and was about to leave.

"Wait!" Jay jumped in front of me, "Who's your godly parent?"

I stared at him for a moment with my almost-black eyes.

"Hades."


	4. Chapter 4

"Secret!" Someone yelled.

I turned to see Shine bounding towards me.

"Hey there Shine!" I grinned at her. She hugged me.

"Ready to be crushed?" My eyes sparkled. Shine scoffed.

"Are _you _ready to be crushed?"

We both laughed a little. The Ares cabin and the Hades cabin usually led capture the flag against each other. Before, when I had just been new, I would team up with the Athena cabin, who would usually lead.

I slipped into my armor, doing up the straps as quickly as I could.

I could hear a horn being blown in the distance. Quickly, I clipped on my hairclip, my sword. I strapped and extra dagger to my arm, just in case.

As a daughter of Hades, I had always been more of a _just-in-case _person. I took two of everything… Just in case.

"Let's go!" Shine took my arm and dragged me down to the forest. I laughed and wriggled free of her strong grip.

I tucked my helmet under my arm and raced to my team. I had picked the biggest cabins… and the smartest ones. It was Hades, Athena, Hermes, and Apollo against everyone else. My team mates decided that we had zilch chances of winning, but I was thinking otherwise.

"So what's the plan, Alpha?" Greg looked at me with serious brown eyes. I looked at Jack, Athena's head counselor. He shrugged and took out a map. We all crowded in to see.

"So the Hermes cabin can distract the guards, Secret can shadow travel in then out. The rest of us just keep them away from Secret… Oh and Apollo's cabin can guard our flag." Jack murmured, looking around at us.

"Simple enough," I nodded, "Let's kick some butt!"

I stepped out into the dark shadows, letting the darkness embrace me.

"Go." Greg whispered in my ear, "We'll distract them."

The Ares cabin sat around the flag, their breaths loud and labored.

"Hide in the shadows." Greg nudged me.

I was too busy, trying to figure out my escape path.

The Hermes kids snuck out of the dark shadows. Without warning, they let out battle cry and pranced into the clearing.

I could see the Ares kids' eyes light up with excitement.

Swords clanged against each other. Slowly, I could hear the noise of battle fade into a deeper part of the forest.

I raced into the next shadow, holding my breath, hoping there weren't any more guards around. It was unusual for Shine to leave the flag unguarded.

My hand grasped the smooth cold metal of the flag's pole. Just as I was about to turn, someone's voice made me freeze.

"Going somewhere?"

I turned slowly, flipping out my sword, "Anna."

Her green eyes flickered slightly, "Secret."

I was alone in enemy territory. Not good. Who knew if there were more of them?

I heard a soft whisper of a footstep behind me. My head snapped around, only to see another three campers emerge from the trees, seemingly.

A flash of bronze caught my attention. Anna slashed at my face. I deflected it with ease.

"Nice try princess." I grinned.

All four of them attacked. I could tell that these campers' major weapon were not with the sword.

By Anna's quick movements and how her arms drooped, I could tell she preferred the dagger.

Luckily, I had another weapon on me. A dagger. Ironic, huh?

I could probably hold them off with two fighting hands. I tossed their flag to the ground and drew it out of my arm strap.

Anna's green, watchful eyes snapped to the black, gleaming blade.

I blocked two attacks, slamming their heads enough to make them to lose consciousness.

Deflecting another blade, I sheathed my dagger and snatched up the flag, preparing to shadow travel away.

Anna caught on, "Coward! You're just running away, like you always do! Come and face me, unless you're too weak."

I glared at her.

Sure, I hated many things, but the _one _thing I hated more than anything was being called a coward or being called weak.

I dropped the flag again, a small smirk planted on my face.

"Bring it on."

Anna and the other camper charged. I blocked the first strike. I kicked the blade out of the camper's hands and whirled my blade to his throat.

Anna suddenly whirled her blade close to me.

I let go of the camper and met her sword with a _clash._

Faintly, I heard the camper run away.  
_  
Clash! Clang! _

I had her pinned down, "Submit," I snarled.

Anna struggled in my grasp, trying to free herself, "Okay! Okay, I give."

I let go of her wriggling body and grasped the flag in my hand.

"Secret! Go!" Greg's voice rang through the air.

I looked up to see Greg, Felix, and Jay grinning at me.

"You were there? This whole time?" I snapped, crossing my arms.

Greg nodded, "The newbies wanted to see your amazing skills."

I rolled my eyes and ran to the nearest shadow, picturing the other side of the river.

Stumbling out of the shadows, I heard a cheer from my teammates.

Faintly, I could hear Chiron blowing the conch horn, signaling victory.

I watched as the opposing flag shimmered and turned black with Hades's symbol on it, he Helm of Darkness.

"Well done!" Chiron cantered over, a small smile on his face.

I gave a small smile back.

"Hey," I turned to see Anna limping over to me, "Sorry I was being mean. It's just different on the battlefield, ya know?"

I laughed a little, nodding, "I know exactly what you mean."

Pleased that I had made a new friend, I headed over to Greg and the two new campers.

"Good job," Greg clapped me on the back, eyes sparkling a little.

**XxXx**

_Ha, I proved that numbers don't mean everything, and the Aphrodite kids _still _think they need at least 10 lip-gloss tubes a day? _

We sat around the campfire, laughing and talking.

Correction: I was silently sitting by myself, scowling, and everyone else was having a great time.

The fire danced happily in the pit, glowing bright yellow, reflecting the mood of the campers.

Inside the fire, I caught a glimpse of a small girl's face. I stared, cocking my head to the side.

She slowly lifted a finger of fire and pointed to something behind me.

My head snapped around to see red, glaring eyes and wisps of shadow floating around a giant shadowy dog.

I yelled an alarm and drew my sword, trying to command the hellhound with my thoughts.

The hellhound refused.

The campfire died down suddenly in black flames and we were left with just the full moon as our light source.

Snarling, the shadowy dog leaped at me- no not me- at the new campers.

I ran after it, wielding my sword.

Someone screamed, but I couldn't see who it was. Probably some petty Aphrodite child.

The hellhound had Jay pinned under its paws. Saliva dripped down its jaws and onto him.

_Ew._

_"_Secret!" Someone yelled.

I jumped over someone, and leaped to the snarling hellhound.

The hellhound turned its attention on me.

This creature had too much power. I could feel it battling with its mind, not physically.

Shadows closed around me. Red eyes bore into my own black ones.

Some of the shadows ripped my sword out of my hand. What was going on?

I frantically kicked, trying to free myself.

Suddenly, the shadows disappeared, along with the hellhound. My vision was blurry, and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Secret! Are you alright?" Someone was shaking me. I groaned.

"What just happened?" I looked up at the blurry image of Shine.

Shine shrugged, "You almost killed the hellhound, but it leaped on you and you just sat there."

I gaped at her.

Chiron trotted over, his bow slung over one shoulder, "What happened?"

I stood, picking up my sword, "I could't control it," My voice was croaky, "It was too powerful to be a monster from the Underworld. Something bad is happening."

Shine's eyes darkened when I said that.

I flicked my sword back into the harmless hair clip again.

Chiron looked at me with his old, sad eyes, "I believe you are correct Secret. the Olympians have just contacted me, saying that Hades is not responsive."

I gulped, "But he's like that all the time right?"

Chiron shook his head, frowning, "I think this calls for a quest."

I scowled. My dad was always unresponsive. What was the big deal? Besides the gigantic hellhound that couldn't be tamed… by the daughter of its master.

Okay, maybe this was big.

Chiron turned to the campers. He was about to sleep when a bright flash of light stopped him.

Above Jay and Felix, a glowing sign was floating above them.

Over Jay, a bright pink dove floated. He was suddenly in traditional Greek clothes, which must have been pretty embarrassing.

Over Felix, a gray owl stared at us.

I looked at them, a small chill prickling up my arms.

Chiron trotted over, looking at the two new campers.

"Welcome, Jay, son of Aphrodite, and Felix, son of Athena." His grave voice carried across the clearing.

Everyone stood there, silent. Chiron raised his voice again, "I want all the head counselors to meet in the big house," he turned to Jay and Felix, "Including you two. The rest of you, go to sleep."

I nodded and walked with the crowd back to the worn down cabins. I continued to walk, past the cabins and the volleyball courts, and to the giant blue house, looming over the strawberry fields.

I could hear Shine walking next to me, trying to keep her footsteps as quiet as mine.

_"Something bad's happening" _I murmured again, just to myself.

**XxXx**

**Hey guys... well who ever is reading this ;D**

**I just wanted to say thanks for viewing and it would mean a lot to me if you could give me some feedback!**

**Thanks!**

**Luff you muffins~!**


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